Homeschooling

I

Introduction

Homeschooling, providing a child's main education program at home. Homeschooling takes the place of full-time school attendance and, in the United States and Canada, it usually meets state and provincial requirements for compulsory education. Families of various races, socioeconomic groups, educational backgrounds, and religious faiths teach their children at home.

Families often choose to homeschool their children because they are dissatisfied with the instruction offered by their local public schools. Many parents also want to make religion a central part of their children’s education. Seventh-day Adventists and Mormons, for example, often provide religion-based homeschooling for their children (see Adventists and see Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Other families choose homeschooling so they can adapt the curriculum to match their child’s interests and abilities. Nearly all parents who choose homeschooling believe that it can help strengthen family bonds by allowing them to spend more time with their children.

Educational analysts are unsure exactly how many children receive most of their schooling at home. Although many states now try to keep a count of homeschooled children, many families do not file papers with the government, making an accurate count difficult to determine. However, studies estimate that between 1 and 2 percent of school-aged children participate in homeschooling. These studies also suggest that the number has more than doubled every five years since 1980.

II

Growth of Homeschooling

Before public education became widely available in the United States and Canada during the late 19th century, many children obtained a formal education at home. Even throughout the 20th century many parents have continued to homeschool their children, usually for religious or cultural reasons.

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In the 1960s and 1970s some families began homeschooling to provide an education in which the child is free to pursue subjects that stimulate personal interest. In this form of instruction, known as child-directed education, parents and other adults give support but do not impose a course of study on the child. Families who adopt this technique believe children learn best at home because they are motivated to pursue an education in a less-structured but stimulating environment.

In the 1980s and 1990s even more families began homeschooling, often because of religious convictions. Many parents believed that public schools were placing less and less emphasis on moral instruction. Often, these parents felt they had a duty to educate their children in a religious environment at home. Parents who homeschool their children for religious reasons typically offer a combination of religious and secular instruction.

III

Curriculum and Activities

There is no single method of homeschooling. Most often, parents plan and teach the educational program. Some parents hire a tutor to help teach part time. In more than 90 percent of families the mother directs the program, while the father helps. Many parents and children work out individual lesson plans together. Older children often participate in independent study programs coordinated through a school.

Homeschooling rarely takes place only at home. It may include visits to libraries, museums, factories, churches, and homes for the aged. Homeschooled children also may take certain classes at a public or private school, a community college, or some other special program. Some homeschoolers enroll in distance education or correspondence education courses. In addition, homeschooling families may join together to share lessons, go on field trips, or participate in athletic activities.

Homeschooling support groups are associations of families—often in the same state—who share educational resources, curriculums, and information about legal regulations. Support groups also help families plan field trips, exchange educational advice, and maintain contact with other families who homeschool their children. Larger associations sponsor meetings where parents share experiences, experts speak on selected topics, and vendors display learning materials. Many private educational institutions offer curriculum packages, books, and other materials for use in homeschooling. Parents may also obtain surplus materials from their local school districts. A variety of support groups, associations, and educational publishers sponsor sites on the World Wide Web that are increasingly popular among homeschooling families.

IV

Academic Achievement

Some professional educators criticize homeschooling that follows a very narrow course of study, such as one that focuses mostly on religious instruction. Critics also argue that homeschooled children typically suffer from a lack of access to science equipment, athletic facilities, computers, and other resources. In addition, many professional educators express concern that parents who homeschool their children lack the teaching skills of certified teachers in conventional schools.

Despite these criticisms, studies show the average homeschooled child scores higher on standardized tests than does the average child in public school. According to a nationwide study published in 1990 by the National Home Education Research Institute, homeschooled children average above the 80th percentile on standardized achievement tests; public school students average in the 50th percentile. However, these studies are inconclusive because not all homeschooled children participated in these tests. It is likely that homeschoolers who do not expect to do well on a test do not volunteer to participate in such studies. In addition, research has not determined how to predict whether a particular child will do better in a conventional school or in a homeschooling environment.

Homeschooled students are just as likely as other students to attend colleges and universities. When applying to college, many homeschooled students send a transcript from a high school or correspondence school that supervised their independent study. Others simply submit a description of the subjects they studied and other learning experiences, in addition to their scores on standardized examinations such as the Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT) or the American College Test (ACT). Most colleges treat these students as if they had a high school diploma. A few institutions may require homeschooled applicants to submit higher standardized test scores than other students. However, some states, such as New Mexico and North Carolina, have enacted laws guaranteeing homeschooled applicants equal treatment in college admissions.

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